


The Fate of the Stars

by CrestandCradle



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Space Opera, Found Family, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mild Gore, Mild Language, Multi, My First Fanfic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, References to Depression, mild violence, past trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-19 05:35:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 20,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29745771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrestandCradle/pseuds/CrestandCradle
Summary: The Olympian League once stood as the ultimate power in the galaxy. When the Titans rose to challenge them, the Olympians had to head to ground. Now the Titans strangle the galaxy and whatever resistance the Olympians manage to gather is consistently beaten down. An ancient Olympian secret is on the verge of being uncovered that could make either side unstoppable. however, the Olympians seem determined to keep while the Titan are changing to extreme tactics to get their hands on it. The incidental crew of Argo II must decide if they will obey their orders or take their new warship and go after the secret with no support. With the end of the war in sight, the fate of the galaxy rests upon their decision.Or alternatively, Percy Jackson in the Generic Science Fantasy Space Opera.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 12





	1. On a Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Please bear with me in the beginning. Due to the setting of this story there is a lot of worldbuilding that needs to be covered. I have tried to spread it out to avoid long exposition dumps, but that may leave some things vague and unexplained until later scenes.
> 
> Also, I have chosen to use a slightly archaic way to refer to ship's by their name as a name. Therefore there will be no "the" before a ship name (unless it is part of the ship's proper name), the ship name will be used like a person's name. For example you don't say "the Jake" you simply say "Jake." This may cause some readers to stumble, so I am giving forewarning.

Annabeth had no idea how long she had been awake. When she woke up, she could feel the gentle vibrations of the ship’s engines, letting her know they were still in transit. She did not have to report to duty until they arrived. What had woken her, she had no idea, but she hoped to be able to drift back into her dreams. However, the ghost of an unsettling feeling had settled in her chest. Her mind could not rest, but she did not know what she was supposed to be working through. It was just a feeling.

Now, she sat on the edge of her rack staring at the bare wall of her cabin. She had not bothered to turn the lights on or open her clock interface. Her small cabin was lit only by the dim lights that ran along the running boards. In the low light, there was no way to judge the passing of time and it was easy to get lost in her directionless thoughts.

“Chase! We’re here!” The muffled yell was accompanied by a sturdy banging on her door. Annabeth’s world snapped into focus. She crossed the room and opened her door in seconds.

“I’ll be right there, Reyna. I just need to get dressed,” Annabeth said. The taller woman looked her over with a critical eye. Reyna always looked regal in her silver battle suit and her long, black hair tied back in a tight braid. Annabeth could not help but feel like a cadet at inspection under her gaze—and Annabeth outranked Reyna. Since waking, she had done nothing to get ready for the day. Her blonde hair was an unmanaged mess, and her sleep clothes were rumpled and loose around her.

Reyna raised an eyebrow. “Did you just wake up?”

“Uh, more or less.” Annabeth had meant to lie, if only to save some face, but she was ever in the habit of deceiving one of her sisters in arms.

“It’s nearly 0900 UFT. You don’t usually sleep in that late,” Reyna said. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Just let Thalia know I will be on the command deck in a few minutes.

Reyna said nothing but looked over Annabeth once more. Then she gave a single nod. She pivoted on her heel and walked down the passageway. Annabeth let her door slide shut and rested her forehead against the cool metal. She hated to admit it. This purposeless feeling that had settled around her was happening with more and more frequency of late. It was usually only when she was alone, and she could dismiss it easily when she had work to focus on. It seemed now, not even her responsibility was able to pull her out of it. Perhaps it was only a one-time thing, and Reyna would not look to much into her off behavior.

She pulled her hair back into a tail, disregarding if it was a mess. It just needed to be out of the way. She stripped off her sleep clothes and pulled on her nano-fiber body suit. The charcoal colored fabric was inlaid with silver wire in hexagonal patterns and fit skintight. Then she began strapping on the segments of her ceramic armor. She felt the magnetic pull of the nanosuit’s circuitry as the plates snapped into place, and then she secured them with leather straps. The final piece was a silver circlet that automatically adjusted to the circumference of her head and could only be removed by herself or one of her order. It could expand into a full helm if she needed and carried her comms unit and HUD.

Once ready she set out to make her way to the command deck. _The Hunt_ was not a large ship. It was a Lunar LWH designed for long range exploration. Its smaller size made making longer jumps easier, as well as making it harder to detect when in hostile territories. It took no time at all for her to reach the command deck. The rest of the field team was already gathered around the projection table. Annabeth was the last to arrive.

“Nice of you to join us, Mate,” Thalia said as Annabeth took her place beside _The Hunt’s_ captain. Thalia was dressed for battle the same as Reyna and Annabeth. The difference was her circlet was also inlaid with gold in the shapes of laurel leaves to denote her rank. She also had a gold crescent moon pinned to the high collar of her nanosuit. Her black hair was chopped short at uneven angles. Despite her blue eyes being the color of ice, there was a familiar warmth to eb found in them.

Annabeth rolled her eyes at her captain. “Let’s just get started. We’ve wasted enough time.” She knew the jab was meant in good fun, but something about it rubbed Annabeth the wrong way. She prickled more when she caught Thalia flicking her eyes over to Reyna. The problem with the two of them dating was they knew each other well enough to have entire conversations in a single look. Annabeth really did not need her two friends growing concerned about her. She did not even know what was wrong with her.

“Artemis intercepted a distress beacon a few days ago on an outdated Olympain channel. We’ve tracked it down to this terraformed moon Knossos. It’s since been abandoned, and the terraform is beginning to break down. However, this structure here remains completely intact. We believe the signal is originating from here.” As Thalia spoke, she hit buttons on the projection table’s control console to bring up holographic models of what she was talking about. 

The first image was a stellar projection of the moon and its surrounding planetary system. The second was satellite scan of an ancient Olympian fortress. Annabeth was instantly taken aback by how pristine the structure was. The thick columns showed no signs of cracking, and there was not a single tile missing from the stone roof. Since the Titanomachia, a lot of ancient Olympian culture had been lost or destroyed. To see a building that showed no signs of a conflict filled her with questions. She had never seen anything like it before. She wondered why the moon had been abandoned. She wasn’t the only one to find it strange.

“Well, there’s nothing unsettling about that,” Phoebe said sarcastically.

“Yes, we have many concerns, and we haven’t been able to gather any information on what might be living there. Or any indication of what could have activated the beacon,” Reyna said.

“Lady Artemis still believes it is important enough for us to investigate. If there are any Olympians on this moon, we must recover them before the enemy finds them. This system may not be as securely controlled by the Titans, but they are still the controlling force here.” Thalia’s words darkened the expression of everyone in the room.

No one liked to be reminded of how much of the galaxy the Titans had claimed after they decimated the Olympian League. Many of _The Hunt’s_ crew were descendants of that great empire, and the Titans stopped at nothing to hunt them down and eradicate them. Their patroness, Lady Artemis, was one of the few pure-blooded Olympians left free and alive. She gathered what forces she could to build a resistance to the Titan’s rule with the hopes of one day freeing the galaxy from their tyranny. Part of that mission was to recover as many Olympians as they could, as they were one of the few races that could challenge the power of the Titans.

“We will only be using a small strike force of five people to move around as quietly and quickly as we can. We will be on full guard as we look for the source of the signal. Expect a trap,” Annabeth said. Thalia and she had already gone over the strategy on the voyage over. This briefing was for the rest of the team. Annabeth had hoped their probes would have gathered more information before they arrived, but the failing atmosphere of the moon had proven problematic. Annabeth relayed this information to the team. Their nanosuits were designed to be adaptable to all manners of environments, but they could be overwhelmed.

“The team will be me, Annabeth, Reyna, Phoebe, and Naomi. Any questions?” Thalia asked. She looked around the table, catching the eye of each crew member. None of them wavered. Thalia settled on Annabeth last. There wasn’t a single doubt in Annabeth’s mind about the mission. Under that piercing blue gaze, however, that unsettled feeling from earlier ghosted through her chest. Thankfully, Thalia did not hold her eye long, and ordered the team to board the landing craft.

* * *

Naomi piloted the landing craft in a wide circle around the ancient fortress to perform a final sweep of the surrounding area. Annabeth and Phoebe monitored the scanners while Thalia and Reyna sat in the back doing a final check over of their weapons.

“The beacon is definitely inside the fortress. Can’t get a solid read on any life signatures due to interference from the celestial technology that must be inside,” Annabeth announced to the ship.

“Nothing stands out on the terrestrial sensors either,” Phoebe said.

Reyna sheathed the knife she was sharpening. “No choice, but to set down then.”

Annabeth looked down at her monitor. She could see the fortress in even more clarity than their scan from _The Hunt_. There was an inscription on the arch above the front gate. It was written in Olympian, but the form appeared older than any Annabeth had read before. How old was this place? She was able to figure out enough of the symbols to translate the inscription.

“Daedalus Laboratories.”

“What was that, Annabeth?” Thalia asked.

“The inscription on the front gate. This place was some kind of lab.” None of the other women appeared interested in this information. It didn’t change anything about their mission. Annabeth thought it was important though. There was never such a thing as too much information. She could have done without the concerned look from Reyna. Did she still think she was distracted? One off morning and it was beginning to ruin her entire day.

“Naomi, set us down by those trees there. The four of us will make our way into the fortress. You keep the ship and scanners running,” Thalia ordered.

Naomi expertly guided the ship between the trees. The touchdown was so soft, Annabeth barely felt it. She hit the controls to retract the personnel door. She did not drop the boarding ramp. It would get in the way if Naomi needed to move the ship quickly. It was only a five foot drop to the ground. It was trivial distance for any half Olympian, but with their nanosuits the impact would be no different than a normal step down. Thalia gave Reyna a quick kiss on the cheek before changing her circlet into helm mode. Then she jumped out of the ship followed by Reyna and Phoebe. Annabeth went last.

It was nighttime on this side of the moon. The HUD inside the visor of her helmet converted Universal Standard Time to the Local Apparent Time, informing her it was roughly 2200. Her helmet also helped her see in the dark, adjusting to the low light levels so she could make out the details around her. The four women crept in silence to the edge of the tree line. Then Annabeth heard a crackle as Thalia opened the comms channel.

“Radio check?” Everyone answered in the affirmative. “Naomi?”

“Loud and clear, Captain,” Naomi answered back.

“Alright, we all know what to do. Annabeth, Phoebe take the ground level. Reyna and I will start on the roof,” Thalia said.

They split off as they exited the trees. There were still no signs of any other lifeforms. Phoebe and Annabeth walked straight to the front gate. The building was constructed off seamless stone. It had been carved with geometric patterns to give it texture, but it was clear to Annabeth that it was one solid piece. As if it had been carved from a single giant boulder or perhaps grown from the ground itself. The only separation Annabeth could identify was around the gate where it had been banded with bronze plating. Annabeth touched her fingertips to the stone and lamented the loss of the Olympian technology that had been used to build this place. For whatever drove the Titan’s hatred of the Olympians, they were thorough in their destruction.

An image popped on Annabeth’s HUD from Phoebe’s perspective. It was tracks in the dirt. It was a weird mix of hooves, claws, and boot prints. They overlayed one another and were smudged. It was difficult to tell how recent they were compared to one another. Annabeth’s hand went to her sidearm, a transformable dagger-pistol. It brought her security. Two small icons appeared in the bottom corner of the image—Reyna and Thalia acknowledging that they had seen it.

Annabeth looked over at Phoebe. The other woman held up her finger to her mouth and cocked her head toward the gate. Annabeth scanned over the gate. There were a series of Ancient Olympian symbols carved into it, but they didn’t seem to form any words. There was one symbol, a delta, that was more worn than the others. It sat about chest height and one of its three sides was marred by a deep cut. Annabeth placed two fingers against it. The delta began to glow blue, light leaking out in a starburst where the cut was. Annabeth stepped back as the gate slid open. It moved smoothly, as if it hadn’t been stationary for generations.

The door opened to a wide corridor. Even with the visual display from her helmet, Annabeth could not see more than a few feet inside. There was no light source anywhere inside. With no communication Annabeth and Phoebe tapped on the lights that sat on their shoulders. The smooth stone of the outside continued through the inside. However, unlike the front gate, all the doors inside were fully encased in bronze plating. There were other bronze plates inlaid in the walls that bore geometric patterns that reminded Annabeth of circuitry.

“Phoebe and I are moving inside,” Annabeth said over the comms.

“Roger that. Reyna and I just made it inside ourselves. We appear to be in some kind of office,” Thalia responded.

“This is just a hallway,” Annabeth said. Phoebe and her moved slowly, careful not to make any undue noise. Annabeth kept her eyes on a constant swivel. There wasn’t much to see. All the doors were closed and there were no interior windows into what lay behind.

“This is celestial bronze,” Phoebe said. “It’s refracting the signals of our equipment.” Celestial bronze was an Olympian invention. They used it in almost all of their technology. It was a synthetic alloy of bronze that resonated with the Olympian’s ichor. It often caused interference with more mundane forms of energy.

“Wha- that?” Thalia’s words came in broken over the comms. Now that all of them were inside the ancient structure, the celestial bronze gave was causing interference. It would most likely only get worse as the moved in deeper.

“Lovely,” Annabeth muttered. “Do you have anything? Or should we just start opening doors?”

“Nothing readable. Old school methods it is,” Phoebe answered.

“I’ll take the left. You take the right. Don’t leave the doorway unless you spot something.” Phoebe tapped her temple to show she understood. Then she turned to the closest door on the right. They had already passed a few on there way in, but it didn’t make sense to back track now. Besides the beacon, was more than likely deeper in the fortress if someone was hiding while they waited for their distress signal to be answered.

Getting the doors open was surprisingly easy. None of them were locked. A gentle touch of the control button and slid back as easily as the front gate. The first few rooms Annabeth opened looked like hospital rooms. The were two gurneys in each room and a couple rolling tables with various ancient equipment it on them. Perhaps this place was a hospital, but the inscription over the gate had called it a laboratory. Maybe Annabeth’s translation had been inaccurate. However, the next room was much more reminiscent of what she would have expected in a laboratory.

In the center there was a row of tables with various small hand tools laid out. Along the side walls stood larger pieces of equipment that needed to be mounted to their own pedestals. The back wall was lined with computers. Everything in the rooms was dead. There was not even the soft hum of sleeping electronics. A thin layer of dust had settled undisturbed on everything.

Annabeth was about to turn away when a flash of amber light caught her eye. She stared into the dark room for five long seconds and the flash did not repeat. On a hunch, Annabeth tapped off her light. She hated the primal part of her brain that instantly saw danger and threats in the dark impressions of the equipment. Rationally, she knew there was nothing to fear, but she could already detect a steady rise in her heartrate. No matter how hard she worked, she could never train this response out of herself. She took a deep breath to calm herself. If her heartrate got to high it would set off the biometric alarms in her armor. She wasn’t about to depend on tis defense just because she stood in the dark. 

Thankfully, she did not have to wait long before the amber light flashed again. This time it stayed illuminated for longer, though far dimmer than when it flashed. Annabeth made her way over tot eh source of the light, looking over her shoulder to check Phoebe’s position. Her back was turned to Annabeth as she searched another room. As long as she was close enough to call out to Annabeth wasn’t worried about entering the dark room. 

As Annabeth approached the table with the light, she was surprised to see it came from a small disc about the size of her palm. The light died as soon as she reached it. She scanned it using all the sensory equipment housed in her helmet. Nothing stood out on any of the channels. Well, it definitely wasn’t the distress beacon they were looking for. Annabeth waited, but the amber light did not return. What was it? Annabeth tapped the light on her shoulder back on. In the light she could see it was plain, metal disc. There were no inscriptions on it, no signs of wiring. It was just a round piece of sheet metal. How did it light up?

“The- ship. -an hear-.” The voice over the comms was so broken Annabeth couldn’t make any of it out. She barely registered Reyna’s voice, but it could have easily been Thalia. Annabeth swore under her breath. She hoped her friends were still safe. She was getting distracted from her mission. She began to move, but something about the disc tugged at her gut. She stared down at it for a second more, then decided to pocket it in one of the pouches on her belt.

When she got back into the hallway Phoebe was waiting for her. Her expression was unreadable underneath the visor of her helmet. However, Annabeth had worked with the other woman to know she was worried just by the set of her shoulders.

“Was there something in there?” Phoebe asked.

Annabeth hesitated before answering, “No. Just thought I saw something. Did you catch what was said over the comms?”

“Couldn’t make it out,” Phoebe said, shaking her head. “You should check this out though.” She gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. Annabeth followed her to an adjoining hallway. It was a short offshoot that ended in a set of double doors. There was a lightbar at the top of the door that was pulsing an angry red. An information panel inlaid in the wall next to the door was similar color. It looked as though some kind of automatic security protocol had been activated.

“Did you find this before or after Reyna tried to contact us?” Annabeth asked.

“Before. It’s locked tight. Looks like it supposed to keep something in as much as out,” Phoebe said.

Annabeth walked up to the panel next to the door. There was some warning on the display, but it was written in ancient Olympian. She flipped open the compartment on her left vambrace that contained a computer interface. She pulled out the retractable connector cable stored inside and connected it to the door’s panel. The screen on her vambrace was suddenly flooded with information from the door, the computer did the work of translating the ancient code to something more readable. Annabeth took a couple pictures using the camera on her helmet and sent it to Reyna and Thalia, the same as Phoebe had done before. She wasn’t sure they would get through any better than their comms, but she figured it was worth the try.

“I think I can get this open,” Annabeth said.

“Do you think we should wait for the others, or regroup at the ship?” Annabeth tensed her jaw. Their plan had not accounted for such a breakdown in communications. Regrouping would be the prudent thing. In most circumstances it would be the default fallback plan, and she could count on Reyna and Thalia to follow through on it sooner than later. However, the signal was days old. If someone was trapped behind those double doors, then they could already be out of time. Even taking the seconds to deliberate over this decision could be costing someone their life.

“We’re enter as quietly as we can. Do what you can to get a signal to Thalia or Naomi, while I do the hacking,” Annabeth ordered. Phoebe gave a curt nod and then they both set to their tasks. Annabeth focused on the strings of computer code and used her thoughts to drown out the static filled messages Phoebe tried to send out. In the back of her mind Annabeth prayed that something got through. It was a wonder how hacking ancient Olympian technology was the easier part.

Phoebe crouched in the corner by the door opposite of Annabeth. She hadn’t heard any return messages from, and the images she had sent were still iconless. It was difficult to keep her worry from rising. Her jaw would be sore by the time the night was over if things continued on this track. Annabeth flashed a hand signal at Phoebe, letting her know she was ready to open the door. They tapped off their lights so they were only illuminated by the red light. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for the low light enhancers on their visors to work. Breathing out a slow, even breath, Annabeth punched in the code on her bracer and the door slid open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you enjoyed this first chapter. This is my first longform fanfic so any feedback you have is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!


	2. Caught Off Guard

The first thing Annabeth noted was the smell. Even through the filter of her helmet the stench of smoke and toxic chemicals stung her nose. She did not want to know what it must be like without the filter. Inside the room was lit with the same pulsing red lights that were above the door. It was enough light to see inside even without their shoulder mounted lights. It was clear to see why the smell was so bad. Everything in the room was coated in black carbon and looked partially melted. There must have been some kind of chemical explosion. Maybe there was no one to rescue. Maybe the ancient lab equipment had finally failed and caused a reaction that set off the alarm system. Still, there was more of the room that Annabeth couldn’t see from the doorway. She wouldn’t feel right until she cleared the whole area.

After a quick hand signal to Phoebe both women slowly entered the room. They kept themselves low, only their heads and shoulders above the burnt remains of counters and tables. Annabeth had her side arm at the ready. She glanced back over her shoulder to check to make sure the door had remained open. Thankfully, it had. Annabeth stepped forward with more purpose, willing to commit herself further into room knowing her exit was clear.

As they moved farther in, Annabeth was surprised to see that whatever explosion had occurred had not taken the entire room. It seemed contained to only the area in front of the door. The rest of the room was largely untouched. It showed signs of wear and age, but other than that it was largely in the same condition as the equipment room she had found earlier. However, this room clearly held the more expensive equipment. It was far more reminiscent of the laboratories Annabeth had grown up with. The room was divided into smaller areas by shelves and climate-controlled storage units, separating one workstation from another.

One of the storage units in the center of the room had three large spikes embedded in the door. The spikes were made of a seamless, dark metal cut into a perfectly conical shape. They were buried nearly two thirds of their length into the door, leaving only three inches of their base visible. Whatever had driven them in had used a substantial amount of force. Annabeth got the distinct feeling that they were not supposed to be there either. The pattern they made in the door reminded her of someone one throwing darts at a target. Annabeth took another picture with her HUD and sent it to the others.

There was still no signal from their other three team members. Not even broken static over the comms in attempt of a response. Annabeth hated the silence. Worse yet, a cold feeling settled in her gut as she realized just how not silent this room was. She hadn’t noticed it at first because her mind was too busy focusing on other things. Unlike the rest of the building, she had seen so far, this room hummed with power. It wasn’t just the alarm system either. The equipment in this room appeared to be operational. When Annabeth rested her hand against the climate-controlled storage unit she could feel the soft vibrations of the compressor inside.

Annabeth only had a second to react to the sound of metal scraping. It was a moment of pure instinct. She grabbed the latch of the storage unit and threw it wide open. In the same motion she spun herself around so that she was completely hidden behind it. From the corner of her eye, she registered Phoebe diving behind a nearby counter. In the next heartbeat two more spikes sprouted in the door, their tips puncturing all the way through causing Annabeth to take a step back. The sound of the metal ripping apart was thunderous and disorienting.

“How did you get out?” a voice like gravel asked. She heard someone taking in deep breaths through their nose. “Ah, fresh air. You got the door open, did you?”  
Annabeth’s analytical mind clawed its way past her fright to get to the surface. First, they were very much not alone. Second, their company was not only hostile, but also lethal. Third, the hostile was talking as if they had been trapped here with someone. That meant there was a third party somewhere int his room. By the sounds of it, they weren’t friends with the first hostile. That didn’t make them Annabeth’s friends, but it was something she could use.

“Now, my work can get back on schedule,” the hostile kept talking. They were clearly not concerned about any kind of threat. “Tell you what. For being so cooperative I won’t kill you immediately if you just come out like a good Olympian dog.”

An alert popped on Annabeth’s HUD. It was a single highlighted word from Phoebe: Olympian. At least the local channel wasn’t affected by the celestial bronze of the building. It also told her Phoebe was okay and listening. Annabeth quickly sent back a message to hold. It was looking more likely that whoever the hostile mistook them for were friendly to their cause. Annabeth just needed to locate them now. However, they couldn’t search for anyone while they were currently pinned down by a hostile that could fire six-inch spikes with incredible speed and force. She ground her teeth. Being held at disadvantage was one of her least favorite things.

“I’m getting impatient,” the hostile said. A growling of warning followed their words. It made Annabeth wonder what species they were. Too many questions and not enough answers. She craned her neck to catch a peak at Phoebe. All she could see from her position were her feet. All of her weight was on the balls of her feet, ready to react at a moment’s notice. Annabeth didn’t know if the hostile knew where Phoebe was, but she was certain they knew where she was.

“Think you can make it around to the other side of this storage unit?” Annabeth asked. The mic in her helmet picking up her whisper and transmitting it to Phoebe.

“Not faster than this guy’s draw.”

“I’ll deal with that. I need you to find who they think they’re talking to. They must be around the other side,” Annabeth said. It wasn’t much of plan. Annabeth’s HUD flashing her heartrate made that clear. However, they had come here for a rescue and now they stumbled right into it. Standing around waiting for the hostile to continue to make the moves would only keep them at a disadvantage.

“Roger that,” Phoebe said. 

Annabeth saw Phoebe’s feet pivot, readying for a sprint around the back. Annabeth didn’t need to give her a signal. She reacted as soon as Annabeth reached around a fired a blind shot toward the hostile. Annabeth didn’t care where she hit. She just need to catch them off guard. As soon as Phoebe moved to run, Annabeth dove to take her spot under cover. Annabeth hit the ground hard, but that was nothing compared to the pain that blossomed in her thigh. Her breath caught in her throat and her vision blurred. Annabeth had to blink her eyes clear to look down and assess what happened.

The hostile had somehow gotten a shot off as Annabeth was diving. One of their spikes was dangling from her thigh. Her armor had done the trick in stopping it from biting into the muscle, but the ceramic plate was completely shattered, and her thigh felt like it had been run over. Annabeth could only hope the force of the impact had not shattered her femur. With the armor plate broken the suit wouldn’t be able to operate normally and supplement her movements.

_Celyn, will love fixing that_ , she thought. A clear, sober thought to distract her from the pain and keep her grounded in the moment.

“A gun?” the hostile roared. “Where did you get a weapon?” So, whoever they were rescuing was unarmed. That was to be expected, but Annabeth could have used some good news. Especially now that whatever good will the hostile had before had dissipated. Annabeth sent a silent prayer that Phoebe at least got away unhit.

“Sorry. I don’t go anywhere without a weapon,” Annabeth shouted back, trying for debonair. Hopefully, she choked back her pain enough to be convincing. Trying to keep her grimacing to a minimum, Annabeth get herself up into a crouch. Her leg protested, but it could support weight. Not broken then.

“Wait. You’re not one of prisoners,” the hostile said.

“Just now figuring that out? No wonder you got yourself locked in here.” Annabeth didn’t like the idea of antagonizing someone who could outshoot her, but she needed to buy Phoebe as much time as possible.

The hostile began to growl again, but then it cut short and changed into a gravelly chuckle. “And you ever so kindly open the door for me. And brought me a fresh supply of blood for my work.” The last thing Annabeth wanted was for the hostile to start getting confident again.

“Go ahead. Walk out that door. I’m begging you,” Annabeth taunted.

“Not until my work is done. Tell me, Olympian spawn, how pure is your blood?” Just then Phoebe flashed a couple pictures across Annabeth’s HUD. She couldn’t make much out. There were some cages and an ungodly amount of blood. She couldn’t tell if the bodies she saw were dead or alive. She didn’t get the chance to even question it before something crashed into the counter she was hiding behind.

The next thing she knew a clawed hand the size of her face was wrapping around her throat. It pulled her up until she was face to face with a distorted lion’s maw. From over the lion’s head a metallic tail with a curved tip, dripping with an unknowns fluid hovered just above her forehead. Thoughts were hard to form as Annabeth struggled to suck in air. The only thing her mind could register was manticore. It did her no good now though as she could remember nothing more about the demonic species that called the Titan planet of Tartarus home. Not that it mattered now as it squeezed the life out of her. 

A swift flick of its tail, and it tore into Annabeth’s arm, armor and all. She would have cried out, but her lungs were already burning from lack of air. The manticore inhaled deeply. 

“Ahh,” it nearly purred. “Pure enough that I can smell it. Yes, you will do me good.”

Black spots started to take her vision. At first, she wasn’t sure she read the creature’s expression right as it twisted into surprise and then pain. Then Annabeth felt the pressure around her throat released and she slumped to the ground. The manticore made a choking sound, but Annabeth barely registered it over her own haggard breaths. There was movement out of the corner of her eye, and her instincts took control once more. She had her weapon drawn in the blink of an eye.

“Easy now. It’s bad luck to shoot your captain.”

“Thalia,” Annabeth gasped. Thalia was crouching at her side in an instant. She quickly assessed over the damage, hands moving with a practice dexterity. She placed an emergency field dressing on her bleeding arm. The small square stuck instantly to her skin and then expanded to cover and seal the wound. Annabeth let her friend fuss over her without complaint. It wasn’t the first time and, begrudgingly, she knew it wouldn’t be the last.

“We didn’t get your messages until we made it to the bottom floors. Looks like it was just in time though,” Reyna said, poking at the dead manticore with the tip of her rifle. They must have come in right as the beast grabbed Annabeth and took the opportunity to fire into its back. If Annabeth was in higher spirits, she might have joked about getting caught in the fire, but her throat still felt like it had been used to hold up a ship. She rubbed at it gently and knew she was going to have some bruises.

“Where’s Phoebe?” Thalia asked.

“Over here, Captain. You should come look at this,” Phoebe answered from the other side of the room. Thalia helped Annabeth to her feet. Reyna made a move to help her walk, but Annabeth shrugged her off and made her own way over. She wasn’t moving fast. Each step with her left leg sent pain through her thigh. However, what remained intact of her armor was able to accommodate her body enough to take away most of her limp. That was good enough for Annabeth to save some of her pride.

Phoebe’s side of the room was even worse than the entrance. It hadn’t suffered the unknown chemical explosion, but that would have been a blessing compared to the mess before them now. Every surface was covered in blood or some other organic fluid. There were bits and pieces of various beings laid out on the tabletops. Some of them showed signs of being chewed on. A little snack for the manticore while it was trapped in here. The others looked like they were being hooked up to various equipment. What made the gore worse is so much of the equipment on this side of the room was turned on, that the area wasn’t just lit by the dim red security lights. The details came to life in the white-blue light of the test equipment’s interface screens.

The storage units on this side of the room seemed to be crudely modified into cages. Phoebe already had one of them open to reveal the body of a young boy. It was purpled all over and covered in lumps, several of his bones were bent at the wrong angle. The manticore had taken his time with this one. Annabeth’s hand went to her neck. A hundred terrible thoughts fought to surface. The manticore’s last words a twisted echo in her head. 

“They talked like some of the—” Annabeth faltered as she tried to find an appropriate word. Unable to find one she settled for the same one the manticore had used. “—prisoners were still alive. Have you checked the rest?”

“This is the only one I got open before I heard the gunshots,” Phoebe said.

“We’ll help with the rest. Annabeth hang back. If they are alive, they may not recognize us as friendly and try to attack. You’ll watch our backs.” Annabeth tried not to bristle at Thalia’s orders. She knew what Thalia said was sensible, but she couldn’t help she was singled out because she got hurt. Still, she dropped back to stand beside one of the less blood covered tables without a word. Her eye drifted down towards an open computer that appeared to be running a diagnostic. Then the others began to make a lot of noise as they busted open the other cages, and she refocused on her task.

It didn’t take much to get the cages open. Whatever the manticore had done to convert them from storage units to holding cells didn’t require a lot of modification. They were already designed to be locked from the outside and were never designed to be opened from the inside. Having already opened one before, Phoebe was the first to get hers open. Annabeth clenched her jaw. Inside was more of the same that was found in the first one. The rescue mission was looking more and more like a recovery.

Reyna was the next one to get her cage open. The scene inside was far more palatable. There were three people inside. All were thin and slumped against the walls of her tight confines at uncomfortable angles. However, despite a few injuries, they were largely unbeaten and whole. Reyna hesitated by the door as she looked at them, something catching her eye. Then she carefully stretched out her hand to check for a pulse on the young woman who was closest to the door.

“Alive,” Reyna said. Her voice was just a whisper, but the surprise was clear. “Barely holding on. The pulse is weak, but these ones are alive.” Some of the tension that had been building in Annabeth’s gut loosened at those words. Maybe this mission wouldn’t be a complete loss.

“Let’s check this last one before we attempt to move them,” Thalia said. She had already worked her way through the lock but didn’t want to open all the doors at once. 

Thalia only got her door open a few inches before it swung wildly out, causing all three girls by the cages to jump back. Annabeth leveled her sidearm at the door. She didn’t shoot immediately as she tried to decipher the maelstrom of limbs and yelling Thalia suddenly found herself defending against.

“Easy! Easy! We’re friendly!” Thalia shouted as she tried to gain control over the situation. In a decision of bravery, Thalia retracted her helmet back into its circlet form so that her face was visible. Her attacker faltered at the motion. Only a moment though and his fist was already cocked back to through another punch.

“Thalia?” a thin voice cracked. Everyone in the room suddenly stopped. Including Thalia’s attacker, though his punch was still held at the ready. 

He looked over his shoulder into the cage and called, “You know these twinkle spots?” The owner of the thin voice stepped around Thalia’s attacker. Thalia’s dropped open in shock, and expression Annabeth mirrored. She immediately holstered her sidearm, feeling foolish.

“Grover?” Thalia said, with nearly as much surprise as he had use to say her name.

Now that everyone was settled and still Annabeth was able to take in the scene before her. Grover was a satyr—a species that had originated from the Olympus home world. They stood shorter than the average human, with shaggy, hair covered legs that ended in cloven hooves, and majestic curling horns that grew from their heads. Grover himself was thin. Even though his hair looked like a curly mess in need of a trim, his beard only showed in wispy patches. He was contrast to his companion.

Thalia’s attacker also happened to eb a satyr. To Annabeth’s surprise he was even shorter than Grover, having never known Grover to be a particularly large satyr. What he lacked in height, he made up for in bulk. Grover’s companion was broad chested with arms and legs like tree trunks. His beard had grown in thick and wild. Even his arms were covered in thick, curly hairs. He had a cut on his forehead that was crusted over with dried blood. He tried to hide it, but Annabeth could tell he was favoring on of his legs.

They stared at each other for less than a second, but it felt like minutes before Grover said something.

“Thalia. I can’t believe your actually here.” Grover turned sharply on his companion. “And you tried to attack her. Hedge, these are Hunters. They work for Artemis.” Hedge’s expression instantly turned from one of anger and bloodlust to one of humble embarrassment with a hint of reverence. He looked about the four women in front of him like he wanted to say something, but was at a loss of where to start.

“Grover, what are you doing here?” Annabeth said. She turned her helmet into circlet as Thalia had. She nearly gagged on the smell of the room, forgetting all the gore and burnt chemicals that hung in the air. Grover didn’t seem to hold it against her. He just looked relieved to see yet another familiar face.

“The Council had heard rumors about something new the Titans were working on. We were sent to investigate. When we got here though this manticore—the manticore! Where is he?” Grover’s eyes went wide with fear. His head whipped from side to side so fast Annabeth thought he might hurt himself. Beside him, Hedge dropped into a fighting stance.

“Don’t worry. We already killed him,” Thalia said. Hedge looked disappointed at that news. Annabeth guessed he was looking to give some payback to their cruel captor. 

“Oh, thank you. How did you know we were here? Our mission was top secret,” Grover said.

“We picked up an ancient emergency signal that must have been set off by this place’s security system. It’s incredible it’s still active,” Annabeth answered.

“Ha ha! I told you that explosion was a good idea,” Hedge said excitedly. He crossed his arms over his chest looking rather pleased with himself.

“You didn’t know it was going to set off a distress signal,” Grover said. He dropped his head into his hand, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Oh, we needed to destroy this place anyways,” Hedge challenged.

Annabeth’s eyes flicked over to the open computer next to her. Her heart spiked. “Why would you want to destroy this place?”

“That was part of the mission. We can’t recover the information here, but we can’t let the Titans try. It has to be destroyed,” Grover explained. 

“And are these people a part of your mission?” Reyna asked. She was crouched in front of the cage she had opened, monitoring the people inside. None of them had come to yet. Hedge rushed over and began checking over the young woman in front. The care and tenderness he showed surprised Annabeth. “She still alive, just weak,” Reyna reassured the satyr.

“A good thing too,” Hedge snapped, as if Reyna had any responsibility in the woman’s condition. “Piper is one of our best intelligence officers. She was the one that discovered what the Titans were trying to do here.”

“We can get her treatment on _The Hunt_. Reyna and I spotted your ship and she looks in no condition to be flying. The manticore must have sabotaged it,” Thalia said.

“Well, alright then. Let’s get a move on, ladies. We’ll get these poor half-bloods back to your ship and then we’ll blow this place up,” Hedge said. One of his cupped ears twitched with agitation.

Annabeth’s interest piqued. If Hedge was calling them half-bloods, then that meant they all had Olympian blood. A strong amount of it too, like Annabeth herself. The manticore had said something about her strong blood being helpful to his work. What would the Titans need with Olympian blood though? And if it took Olympian blood, why was Grover so certain they couldn’t recover the information from this place? Her eyes drifted back to the open computer on the table. Its screen showed it was still plugging away at its calculations. She couldn’t let this place be lost. It was the most intact ancient Olympian technology she had seen in years. Even if it was in Titan territory, it was too valuable.

No one else shared those sympathies. Phoebe was already pulling emergency charges from her pack a determining the place to put them to do the most damage. She even opened some of the containments so that their volatile contents could help in the destruction. Everyone else was busy checking the unconscious captives for injuries and determining the safest way to carry them out. No one questioned Annabeth not moving to action. She couldn’t reasonably carry anyone on her leg. Annabeth rolled her tongue between her teeth as a thought formed in her head.

Once she was certain everyone else was thoroughly preoccupied, she set to work. She disconnected everything nonessential from the computer on the table. A warning message flashed across the screen, but Annabeth. She knew she might lose some of the data from it. Partial data was still better than no data. Then she collapsed the device and secured it inside her own pack. 

The whole process only took her a few seconds. She didn’t think anyone else would notice, but as she looked back up Thalia was starring at her. Her captain held her eye. Annabeth’s heart spiked once more, but Thalia said nothing. She continued to say nothing as they finished their work, returned to their ground ship, and the entire return trip to _The Hunt_. Annabeth remained unsure if Thalia ever saw anything at all, or if she was holding comment until later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped you enjoyed, and thanks again for reading!


	3. Nothing as Expected

When Annabeth woke the next morning the weird feeling that haunted her the day before was absent. However, this did not mean her morning was any better.

If it hadn’t been for the medicine she was given in med bay, she was certain she wouldn’t have slept through the night. Her thoughts were still distracted, but not in the empty way they had been yesterday morning. Now her mind was going a thousand miles an hour. It was moving so fast she couldn’t settle on one thing long enough to work it through. She had question about Daedalus Laboratories, about that weird disc, about the manticore, the computer, Grover’s mission—far too many. Far, far too many. 

The easiest to start with would be to talk to Grover and his companions, but they were all recovering in med bay, and they needed their rest. Annabeth would wait to talk to them until they were ready. The next best place would be with the computer. It may even be able to answer multiple questions. Annabeth hadn’t removed it from her pack since she got back. She wasn’t hiding it. There was nothing wrong with what she did. She would never betray the Olympians, and no instruction had been given that she couldn’t try to recover some information. Grover’s team had been told they couldn’t recover the information, that didn’t mean that Annabeth wouldn’t be able to. Yet still, she wasn’t inclined to take it out anytime soon.

Fed up with her overactive mind and no avenues in which to ease it, Annabeth dragged herself from her room and made it down to the mess for breakfast about two hours earlier than her usual time. Like any good ship _The Hunt_ kept a rotational watch so there was always multiple someones awake at any given hour. However, the time that Annabeth made it to the mess it was an off hour for most people. She wasn't particularly worried about it being crowded. She still sought out a table where she knew no one would bother to talk to her.

Annabeth wasn’t sure how long she had been staring at the bottom of her half empty cup and pushing around the crumbs on her plate before Thalia walked up to her table and sat down across from her. Thalia had a talent for making her presence known like a boulder in a field of flowers. Annabeth felt that now as she forced herself to focus all her attention on the woman in front of her.

“Why, Captain, this isn’t the officer’s mess,” Annabeth said, speaking first. 

It didn’t really matter that they weren’t in the officer’s mess. The second crew mess was so rarely used, Annabeth often questioned why they even had one on board. Especially at time like now when the ship’s full contingent of crew wasn’t on board. Everyone could fit comfortably into the officer’s mess. There was so little point in separating by rank anyhow. This is why Annabeth had chosen to come down to the second mess in the first place. She knew she would be alone.

“And yet, here is my Chief Officer. And she’s kind of a mess,” Thalia fired back using the same half playful, half serious tone Annabeth had.

“I’m not the one who’s collar is inside out.” Annabeth noted the slight tensing of Thalia’s hand as she forced it still and tried to nonchalantly play off Annabeth’s remark.

“It’s actually the latest fashion,” Thalia said.

“Oh, what’s that? _Struggling to get dressed in the dark because I don’t want to wake my girlfriend_?” Annabeth asked.

Thalia smiled. “Exactly. You should really try it.”

“I see the same twenty-six people every day. We can’t all be as fortunate as you and Reyna.” Annabeth's voice tightened and she couldn't return Thalia's smile. Their conversation was beginning to tread into territory she did not want to discuss.

“That’s fair,” Thalia said. She knew her friend long enough to know when a subject was dropped. She took a sip of her coffee. When she set her mug down, she tapped her fingers against its rim and didn’t bring her eyes back up to meet Annabeth’s. “You know, Reyna and I have been talking about you.”

“Talking about another woman is rather poor pillow talk,” Annabeth said, trying for a bad joke to keep things light. Anxiety twisted in her gut. Thalia’s tone was far too subdued.

Thalia brought her intense blue eyes up. “We’re worried about you.” 

The flat-out statement shocked Annabeth frozen. It was said. Plainly. There was no deflecting now. No Running. Her mind finally shut down. She stared at her friend and captain, but no words came for either person before her.

Since Annabeth remained silent, Thalia continued, “I’ve been noticing you’re a little… off lately. I wasn’t going to say anything, but when Reyna mentioned it to me, and after yesterday. I just want to check in with you.”

“I… don’t… know what to say.” Annabeth’s voice had no body to it. It was the truth. At least she could offer that. For so long now Annabeth had avoided even thinking something was wrong with her. Hoping that whatever these strange moods were would pass and were inconsequential. In that time she allowed herself to get worse to the point her friends were becoming concerned. Yet, Annabeth had no answer for them.

Thalia let out a sigh. She dropped her eyes and went back to tapping on the rim of her mug. Her shoulders sagged a little, letting Annabeth know she was as burdened with this as she was.

“You know, when I asked you to crew up it was because I thought this would help after everything that happened. I think in the beginning it really did, and you thrived. But maybe this was never meant to be sustainable long term,” Thalia said. Her words came out slowly, calculated. She was cutting to the heart, and dancing around it all at the same time. Thalia was loading a weapon, and it pointed at both of them.

“Are you discharging me?” Annabeth asked, unable to keep her anger from her words.

“No. I would never do that.” Thalia held Annabeth’s gaze as she spoke. She wasn’t lying. She even had the dignity to look pained as she said, “I’m asking you to consider stepping down.”

Annabeth’s jaw dropped. Anger boiled underneath the surface, but it wasn’t sure which way to go. She couldn’t decide if it was more insulting to be forced out, or for her best friend to ask her to make the decision to leave. Why would she do that? How was that even a good idea? Either way, Annabeth was certain of one thing. It broke her heart and threatened to open wounds she thought had healed.

“You want me to leave?”

“No. I want what’s best for you. I’m just not entirely sure _The Hunt_ is that anymore, and I think you should evaluate that for yourself,” Thalia said.

“There’s nothing to evaluate,” Annabeth said immediately. She didn’t care to entertain the thought, but everything that had been true when she joined was still true now. “There’s no other place for me to go. The Council means well, but after losing _Empire State_ —well, I don’t need to tell you. I don’t know how to not fight for Olympus. So, what’s next? The Legion?” 

“You know I’m the last person that would tell you to go to the Legion. The cost of service has already been taken out of too many people that I love.” Thalia’s voice dropped low, a hint of danger at the edge of her words. Her eyes were full of a cold anger. Annabeth knew her too well though. She could still see the pain that also lay inside them.

“So, what are you trying to say?” Annabeth asked.

Thalia sighed. “I don’t know. This war has changed so much since we lost _Empire State_. That doesn’t mean you aren’t in danger of losing yourself.” Annabeth opened her mouth to object. Thalia silenced her before she could form a sound by raising one finger and fixing her with a hard glare. “You don’t have to decide now. When we get back to New Rome we will be laying up _The_ Hunt for a few weeks.”

“We aren’t due for any major repairs,” Annabeth said.

“True,” Thalia agreed, “but we have been flying for a long time now without our full crew and no rotation. I think maybe we all could use some rest. I’ve already cleared it with Lady Artemis. Maybe after some recuperation this funk will have left you, and we will have nothing more to discuss. Or maybe the time off will help you realize that you need more out of life than this.”

Annabeth titled her head to the side and stared at her lifelong friend. Thalia had changed considerably since becoming captain of The Hunt. Annabeth still remembered the hell they raised together when they both still in training with the Council. Thalia was an arc blast, full of violent energy and nothing to direct her. She still held that same fire, but her fuse had grown longer, and her release was more controlled, focused. Honestly, Annabeth was proud of her friend. It made her smile to see how much healthy growth Thalia had undergone.

In that lens, she could see why Thalia would consider her a mess. Annabeth was older, stronger, more aware, but she was still very much the way she was back then. She still threw everything into a nebulous goal that seemed farther out of reach with each cycle. One that, at this point in her life, she was unsure whether she chose it for herself or felt obligated to take upon herself due to her birthright. All her life her education and training had been centered around the Olympian League and defeating the Titan Empire that choked the galaxy. She knew little more to life. Not that she believed there was much out there of it to have. Not with the dreary state in which the Titans kept the planets they controlled. So, Annabeth kept at the only thing she thought had purpose.

However, four cycles ago when the Olympian Council lost _Empire State_ in a devastating battle, everything in the galaxy shifted. The tenuous bonds the Olympians had forged in creating a resistance to the Titans had nearly all shattered. The war with from battles of reclamation, to protecting the resources they still had, and hiding away the rest. Annabeth couldn’t blame them. It was the best strategy given their situation. 

_Empire State_ had been the most formidable warship the Olympians had. She was the only ship that could truly challenge the Titan’s power. The battle that took her had been bloody. Not only did they lose her, but the lives of so many of their own and their allies. The planet of Parnassus was nothing more than chunks of shattered rock in the wake of the destruction. An entire planet destroyed in a single battle. Annabeth wasn’t sure anyone bothered to calculate the death toll that day. No one had the stomach to count that high.

Annabeth hadn’t the stomach to stay. Picking up the pieces and going into hiding was not her idea of continuing on. She knew they needed to recuperate their losses if they were ever going to turn the war, but it wasn’t enough for her. That was when Thalia had asked her to join _The Hunt’s_ crew. Lady Artemis had always run covert missions on behalf of the Council, though her special position allowed her to act more independently than others. _The Hunt_ had managed to survive the Battle of Parnassus with relatively minimal losses. It took almost no time before she was flying again, out hunting whatever top Titan officers she could find. That was mission Annabeth could support in full force.

Not even _The Hunt_ could escape the cold front that had taken over the war. With the resistance beaten back, the Titans took control of everything with little cost to themselves. Their officers no longer had to be out in the field. They could direct their forces successfully while staying safely tucked away in their fortresses and starstations, out of reach of where The Hunt could reasonably get to them. So, their missions changed to more long-range reconnaissance and helping the threadbare resistance in the outer reaches.

“Captain. Mate,” Naomi called as she entered the mess. Both Thalia and Annabeth snapped their heads toward her, surprised by the unexpected arrival. Annabeth’s bruised neck protested the quick motion, but her mind was thankful for the change of focus. She was on the verge of a rabbit hole she was not sure she was ready to fall into.

“What is it, Naomi?” Thalia asked.

“Our guests are awake. Those that are able are currently in the lounge across from med bay,” Naomi said.

“Time for work then,” Annabeth said.

Thalia side eyed her, letting Annabeth know she was not sly, nor completely off the hook. “So it would seem.”

Naomi dismissed herself as Thalia and Annabeth rose from their seats. Thalia downed the rest of her coffee then refilled her mug. Annabeth teased her about it as she placed her dishes in the depository for the automated scullery. It earned her an elegantly raised middle finger.

“Be that way if you want, but no amount of caffeine will fix your collar,” Annabeth said. She tried to walk, but Thalia stopped her by thrusting her mug into her hands. The captain affixed her with one of her award-winning death glares.

“If even one drop is gone from that cup when I get back, you’re dead,” Thalia threatened. Annabeth laughed as Thalia slipped inside the passageway head to fix her shirt. That small exchange let Annabeth know everything was okay. Despite the morning’s conversation she had nothing to worry about. They were on the same footing they had always been on.

Thalia returned from the head looking much more put together and took her mug from Annabeth. The captain thoroughly inspected her mug. She took a few experimental sips. Then once everything passed her checks the two of them made their way to the 01 deck where the med bay and lounge were. It was a short distance to their destination. The med bay was located close to the central lift in the case of emergencies a patient could be brought there with little difficulty. It was one of the things Annabeth appreciated about the design of _The Hunt_. The machinery spaces were somewhat of a mess, but she had little reason to be down there. Annabeth’s work was more mission and personnel centric. In those two aspects she couldn’t ask for a better ship.

The lounge was only occupied by Grover, Hedge, and Piper when the entered. Apparently, their other rescues were still under intensive care. That didn’t quite surprise Annabeth, but the fact that Piper had recovered so quickly did. Perhaps in the low light of the lab Annabeth hadn’t assessed her well. Seeing her in full light and awake was a little disarming to say the least.

She couldn’t have been any older than Annabeth herself. Her rich brown hair was chopped at various angles and lengths. Annabeth thought it might have been the result of her captivity if it didn’t manage to somehow perfectly frame her face, accented by two braids on either side. It was nearly impossible to tell what shade of brown her eyes were. As she moved her head and they caught the light at different angles they changed from a deep, earthy tone to a tree bark, then again to an amber gold. Her copper skin held no pallor one might expect from someone who had been held captive in the dark.

“Good morning,” Thalia said, interrupting the conversation their three guests were having while they sat around the circular table in the corner of the room. Annabeth was relieved when Piper passed her over to look at the captain. It gave her the extra second she needed to collect herself and stop staring.

“Hey, guys,” Grover greeted. He was the only one who smiled. Hedge looked like he was trying hard to remain unimpressed for effect. Piper looked like she wasn’t sure what to think of Thalia and Annabeth. Her eyes were a bit weary, but her expression was open, giving them a chance.

“For those that don’t know, I’m Thalia Grace, Caption of The Hunt. This here is my Chief Mate, Annabeth Chase,” Thalia said. She used her coffee mug to gesture to herself and Annabeth accordingly.

Piper nodded. “I’m Piper McLean. Special Intelligence officer for the Council. And I suppose you already know everyone else.”

“Grover is a long time friend. Hedge we met yesterday,” Thalia clarified.

“Thank you for the rescue and, as Hedge explained it, finishing our mission for us to. I am curious though how you knew to come look for us. I didn’t think anyone outside of our team knew about our mission.”

“Lady Artemis picked up an old emergency transmission and directed us to it,” Annabeth said.

“Lady Artemis?” Piper repeated under her breath. Her eyes went wide for a heartbeat, then she quickly looked down at the table. Her brow creased and her lips pursed slightly as she worked through her thoughts. Annabeth didn’t like that reaction. Piper seemed afraid, but Annabeth couldn’t imagine of what. Lady Artemis always had an upstanding reputation with the rest of the Council, even if they didn’t always see eye to eye. Another question stacked in the back of her mind.

“Now that everything is over. Is there anything more you can tell us about your mission?” Annabeth asked.

“There’s not really much more to say,” Grover spoke first. “We were sent out to destroy that lab as quietly as we could.

Thalia glanced over at Annabeth and raised an eyebrow. “The Council sent Spec Ops on a covert mission to quietly destroy and ancient Olympian facility that had been abandoned for generations?”

“We received word that the Titans were trying to start it back up again. We couldn’t allow that happen. Orders were to blow it to bits and any Titan allies along with it,” Hedge said. His voice itched up with excitement when he spoke about destruction. It was clear why he was brought along on the mission.

“That still doesn’t explain the high level of secrecy,” Annabeth argued.

“The nature of the place and what it held inside, meant even just knowing about it could lead to further discovery that the Olympians cannot risk the Titans finding. So, yes, it was a classified mission,” Piper said defensively. Something in the tone of her voice pulled at Annabeth’s gut. Or maybe that was just the spike of fear that ran through her. She tossed a quick glance at Thalia, but her captain wasn’t looking at her and nothing change in her posture. Perhaps Thalia didn’t know that Annabeth had taken the computer.

“Alright. So, what was that place?”

Piper looked uneasily about the room. “I’m not sure I’m allowed to tell you that. Lady Artemis must know something about it if she picked up a signal from there. She’s also on the Council. Maybe she can give you authorization.”

Thalia bristled. Annabeth knew her friend well enough to know exactly what was running through her head. 

The Olympian Council was very well known for withholding information. They seemed to think they alone knew what was best for the continuation of their entire race. So, they only told the lesser beings what they thought they needed to know.

Artemis had always been different though. She was more transparent and there was only a handful of secrets she kept to herself. It always felt more out of personal obligation rather than the superiority of the rest of the Council. Of course, she shared this information almost exclusively with her crew. Thalia, being captain, was privy to more than others, just to keep operations running smoothly. So, being told there was some big secret out there that the Olympians would risk elite members just to destroy, and she had been kept in the dark by Artemis, that was more than enough to stir her temper.

“Quite a large team you brought for a secret demolition mission,” Annabeth said quickly. She changed the subject to give Thalia time to collect herself.

“Actually, the team was just us three. Those others were already there, being held captive, when we arrived,” Piper said.

“Your intelligence said nothing about captives possibly being present on site?”

Piper shook her head. “As soon as we realized we tried to change course to free them. That’s when we got caught ourselves.”

“We could’ve taken that lousy manticore,” Hedge grumbled. He crossed his arms over his chest and elbowed Grover next to him. “I told you, you need to do more pushups.”

Grover just rolled his eyes. He had never been the best fighter, but he had plenty of other strengths. He was always fully dedicated to the job. He would see anything through, no matter how much it scared him. That wasn’t something you could just teach, and that made it invaluable in Annabeth’s mind.

“Anyways,” Thalia said. She was calm, but Annabeth could tell from the slight squint in her that that she was still bothered. “Do you have any idea why they were being held captive there?”

Piper paled. “I think it had something to do with ichor, but I couldn’t figure anything past that.”

Ichor was unique to the Olympian race. It was an ethereal substance that manifested in their blood. It is what gave them their increased physical attributes like strength and constitution. It also gave them magic-like abilities These abilities manifested differently in each person. Some people could manipulate the weather, or plants, or animals. Others could create lightning or fire. Pure blooded Olympians had innumerous power and abilities. Anything less than that and it was left to chance on how much ichor would manifest in their blood. Thalia and Annabeth were both half-bloods, but only Thalia had any special abilities to boast about. All Annabeth received from it was her heightened physical capabilities.

“Well, I guess that explains the mess,” Thalia said off hand. She took a sip of her coffee and then sighed. “I don’t suppose we are going to get anywhere further with this right now, and you all probably need more rest. It’s about a sixty-hour transit back to Romulus. You’re welcome to move freely about the accommodation spaces, but please stay out of the rest of the ship so the crew can do their jobs.”

Piper nodded. “Thank you again.”

With that Thalia dismissed herself and Annabeth was obligated to follow. She wanted to stay and question Piper or Grover more, but she supposed the captain was right. Despite her picture of health, they were probably in need of more rest. They had a lot to recover from. Besides, she had plenty of time to catch them later on the return trip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! 
> 
> I unfortunately have just started a new job and there is much work to be done. This means I might have to slow down updates as I have not been able to find time to write in the evenings. I will continue to do the best I can, and will update you once more of a routine has settled.


	4. The Weight of War

Annabeth wasn’t able to catch Piper alone to talk until the last day. Her responsibilities as mate had kept her busy, and in her free time she always seemed to swing by the med bay when Piper was either sleeping or out elsewhere. However, as Annabeth was leaving med bay after receiving her morning treatment for her leg and neck, she caught Piper walking out and followed her.

Piper followed the passageway aft until she turned off to a small observatory nook on the outboard side. It was an awkward space wedged between a ventilation locker and an emergency ladderway. In truth it was just an unused portion of the deck not really big enough for anything to go there. However, the shipbuilder did not want to waste any deck space and turned it into a small sitting area with large, bay windows to the outside. It offered a small amount of seclusion in the way it was tucked around the ladderway and in the fact that it rarely got used by anyone. There really just wasn’t much to look out at when the ship was underway as it often was.

Annabeth hesitated in the passageway. Piper had not noticed her following. She would have to announce herself, but it felt a bit awkward. It was technically an open space, but Piper had clearly chosen it to be alone. Annabeth wasn’t even sure what to say in the first place. She wanted to ask a whole list of questions, but she didn’t want to scare the other woman off or make her feel interrogated.

As Annabeth deliberated her next move, Piper pulled out a dagger made entirely of celestial bronze. She ran her hand over the polished surface of the flat of the blade and starred into it intently. Annabeth recognized it immediately as a scrying dagger, a tool used by the Council’s Special Intelligence. She knew because she had one similar to it, though it lost its ability to scry a long time ago. All it was good for now was stabbing people. That worked well enough for Annabeth, who had gotten more use out of it that way even when it still worked.

“What are you looking for?” Annabeth asked, stepping into the lounge area. She took a seat on the cushioned bench opposite of Piper.

Piper started and dropped her dagger to her lap. “Nothing really. I was just doing a general scry, seeing what it would show me.”

“I never really got the hang of that,” Annabeth said. It was true. One reason why she never scried often in the past was because its most useful feature required a talent that she could never master.

Scrying devices were an interesting Olympian invention. They weren’t always forged into daggers, but Special Intelligence operatives were always given a dagger so they could have both a tool and an easily concealable weapon. Scrying devices could be used to connect into almost any sensor array undetected and read all the information available. If you wanted to hack into a security feed and see what the cameras saw, there was no tool better. However, that was only its most basic capabilities. 

Being constructed from celestial bronze meant it would respond to an ichor input. If one focused their will and mind on a single question the scrying device would search for an answer and try to reveal any information it could. Annabeth often found it did this by showing confusing clips of video feeds or ambiguously worded sentence fragments. It usually left her with more questions than answers. A general scan worked the same way, except you kept your mind blank and let the scrying device show you whatever. Sometimes it would reveal things to you that you didn’t even know you needed. it wanted. The best scryers found their best information that way. Annabeth thought it was even more fragmented than a focused scan, and even less informative.

“You know how to scry?” Piper asked, her eyebrows scrunching together.

“I was a Special Intelligence officer for the Council for a long time,” Annabeth said. “Which makes me curious why I never met you before. We have to be roughly the same age. We would have been in the same training year.”

“I kinda skipped most of training. I haven’t been doing this very long. The council only found me three cycles ago.”

“You’ve only been doing this for three cycles?” Annabeth couldn’t hide her surprise. At least it answered why they never met before. Annabeth had left four cycles ago. But only three cycles and already given top secret mission and able to casually do general scries? Annabeth couldn’t think of anyone who was that good. Where did the Council find her?

Piper dropped her eyes to the dagger in her lap. She began to restlessly spin the dagger between her fingers. “I’m told I have a lot of ichor. My abilities make me particularly suited for this kind of work.” 

Well, that answered why Piper had looked so well healed so quickly. If she had a high amount of ichor in her blood, she would heal faster.

“What are your abilities? If you don’t mind.”

“I can understand most languages without having to learn them. I can make these small glamours that alternate someone’s appearance.” Piper hesitated. The dagger in her hands began to spin with greater speed. Her next words were mumbled.

“I’m sorry, what?” Annabeth asked.

“I can convince people to do whatever I want them to.” Piper took a tentative look at Annabeth from under her eyebrows. Annabeth wasn’t sure what her face held, but apparently it wasn’t the worst Piper had imagined. After a moment she picked her head back up and stilled the dagger in her hands.

It was an impressive set of gifts. Annabeth could definitely see why the Council would make an intelligence officer so quickly. She could already do half of what any other officer could do with years of training. Even more than that. What Annabeth wouldn’t have killed to have someone like Piper on some of her past missions. Or the things she could have done with even one of those abilities. Annabeth tried not to focus on that last thought. She hated that part of her that thought she could do so much better than her friends if she could use their powers.

“You can charmspeak.” It was more of a statement than a question. Annabeth was categorizing this new information and trying to put the puzzle in her head together. “You don’t seem to like it though.”

“I– don’t know how I feel about it. For most of my life I didn’t even know what I was doing. It wasn’t until the Council started teaching me to use it intentionally did I begin to realize what I was doing, how it worked. It doesn’t feel right to do that to people,” Piper said. She had resumed spinning the dagger in her hands. It was slower this time. Instead of nervous energy, she spun it like gear. It completed one revolution per thought.

Annabeth wasn’t sure what to say to that. She had been on the receiving end of charmspeak on several occasions. Of course, she only realized that after the fact. In the moment, the compulsion was too strong for her to even notice what was happening. She always burned with a mixture of shame and anger when the realization came through. She felt that way when any adversary was able to get the best of her. She never had thought ill of charmspeak itself, just its user. She also never considered what it would be like to use it. Could you feel the emotions twisting as your target bent to your will?

“Do you only use it as a last resort then?” Annabeth asked, struggling to find a more sympathetic approach.

Piper shook her head. “It’s way to useful for that. It’s my most dependable talent, honestly. I still use it unintentionally sometimes too.”

“You must be really powerful. How is it the Council didn’t find you earlier?”

“Hedge asked the same thing when he found me. Pure luck is my best guess. I didn’t even know I was part Olympian before Hedge told me,” Piper said.

Annabeth’s eyebrows shot upward. Every new thing Piper said was becoming more and more incredulous. Yet, Annabeth could tell she was completely sincere. It wasn’t charmspeak either. Her mouth worked to ask her next question, but the sound wouldn’t form. However, Piper filled in the answer without bring prompted. This was probably something she had to explain several times over since being taken in by the Council.

“My mother had been the Olympian, but I never knew her. She left when I was just a baby. And my dad—he was always a little too heartbroken to talk about her. Even if he did, he didn’t know. It’s only luck no one saw me using my powers before Hedge did.” Piper raised her eyebrows and gave a small shake of her head. Even she found it all to be unbelievable. “I was out in public, dealing with some assholes in the marketplace not even aware of what I was doing.”

“Satyrs can feel when ichor is being manipulated, though,” Annabeth supplied.

Piper nodded. “And he recognized the ability. Told me that only Olympians had that kind of power. I was only home for short a while, to ask my dad, when the rest of my luck had run out. Titan operatives had followed Hedge, which lead them to me. We had to split up to escape. Hedge’s wife took my dad somewhere safe and Hedge took me to the Council.”

“Have you been able to see your dad since?” Annabeth asked.

“I check in on him every now and then, but conversation is always short. I don’t want to talk about what I’m doing for the Olympians now and worry him,” Piper said. She held up her dagger. “I sometimes peak in on him with this. So, I know he’s okay, but I’m not putting him at risk by sending a trackable transmission.” 

Piper’s gripped tightened around the dagger’s hilt. She stared out the observatory window at the vast nothingness of open space. Her stare was hard, as if challenging the void to send something flying at her. Annabeth was familiar with that look. The lines it made had worn groves into her own face.

“I don’t understand how she could do that.” Piper’s tone sounded far away. Annabeth wasn’t sure if she had meant to say that out loud. She responded anyway.

“She probably didn’t mean to. She was being hunted and had to leave. Thought you would be safer with your non-Olympian father.”

“Even with how powerful I was?” Piper asked. She turned to look at Annabeth. Her brown eyes were dark, but Annabeth thought she saw a bit of hope in them. That hope was tinted with pain.

“You can’t always tell,” Annabeth said with a shrug. “You can be born from a weaker Olympian and have great strength. Or born from a really powerful one and have none.” She tried not to sound bitter. Maybe that wound wasn’t quite as healed as she thought.

Piper just stared at Annabeth for a moment. Then her eyes went wide. “That’s why you look so familiar. You’re Athena’s daughter, aren’t you?”

“That’s me," Annabeth said. Her mouth twisted tightly. It was no secret, but Annabeth wished Piper had pieced it together from another set of information. she didn't want to know what it meant to be recognized for being powerless.

“You look so much alike,” Piper said.

It was Annabeth’s turn to be surprised once more. “You’ve met her?”

“Well, no. I’ve only seen videos from her from some of the security meetings and such.”

“That makes more sense.” Annabeth nodded. She herself had only met her mother a handful of times in person.

Her mother, Athena, was one of the twelve full-blooded Olympians that made up the Olympian Council. They were all extremely powerful, and either from a high-ranking lineage from before the fall of the Olympus or held the title personally. Their blood was so rich in Ichor it bled gold. They were the core of the resistance and what was left of Olympian society. They tried to hold on to the laws and traditions of Olympus and banding together anyone they could that held some kind of blood claim to their home world. Blood was important to them because ichor was important to them. Ichor is what set Olympians apart from the other species in the galaxy. It was not well received when they had a child who possessed only a little amount of ichor.

Not that it was easy being a child of one of council members in the first place. They were almost always busy with trying to hold together what was left of the League. Because of their status they were all number one on the Titan’s hitlist. So, they spent most of their time off planet in hiding. They only communicated through encrypted, coded messages. Occasionally they would send boons to help the resistance when they thought they could, but mostly they interacted through trusted operatives. Their children were almost always expected to take up the slack the lack of presence from their parents created. It was a lot of pressure to put on anyone, but Annabeth felt it doubly so.

She had none of the gifts her mother had. How was she supposed to take her place in the resistance? Annabeth felt like she had to work to be like her mother in every other way to make up for her lack of ability. It was had for her to divorce the parts of herself that were made in her mother’s image and which parts belonged to her. Annabeth had always been a little proud of that though, always happy to take the mantle of Athena’s daughter. It was hard work, but she always loved a challenge. However, the best part about a challenge was the reward. Twenty-three cycles in life and Annabeth had still yet to find a satisfying reward to her efforts. She never stopped though. Even after she joined _The Hunt_.

“Do you think it’s worth it?” Piper asked suddenly. Annabeth started, not realizing how the conversation lulled.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you think it’s worth it? All this,” Piper waved her open hand in a vague gesture, “strife? Do you think it’s worth going through all of this to rebuild Olympus?”

“I don’t know,” Annabeth admitted softly. “I will tell you what I do know. It is worth it to fight to stop the Titan’s from choking this galaxy. And the Olympians—us—are the only ones with the ability to even try.”

“That’s what I think too,” Piper said. A small smile rested on her lips. The brown in her eyes had shifted to a lighter shade at some point. Annabeth couldn’t help but feel the corners of her mouth tug upwards as well.

Annabeth still had questions. There were still too many unknown variables bouncing around her mind. She knew her thoughts would not still until they were answered. Yet, she no longer felt the nagging urge to throw them at Piper. She had already learned a lot from the other woman. Things she hadn’t expected. More import things. 

Whatever distrust or unease she had felt before, it was gone. Annabeth knew Piper was a friend, fully on the same side. Just another young soul caught in the twisting turmoil of a war started before their time, yet willing to fight all the same. For now, she could trust Piper to carry the answers to her unasked questions until a time when they were more pressing to know.

* * *

Idle time was a foreign concept. Annabeth always had to keep busy doing something. Even if that something was sitting around contemplating the intricacies of the universe. When her conversation lulled with Piper and they found themselves sitting a mutually comfortable silence, she began to get restless. She supposed she could have sat and thought with Piper there, but for some reason she felt mind didn’t have the same freedom as when she was alone. She excused herself to her room/ Piper didn’t seem to mind, returning to whatever business she had with her scrying dagger.

Once in her room Annabeth just stood in the entryway for a moment with the door shut behind her. She stared at her field pack resting in its designated corner. She hadn’t touched it since they returned from Knossos. She hadn’t dared removed the computer while she was concerned about what Thalia was say. Now, she was certain Thalia had no idea she took it. It had been more than long enough for her to say something, and they have had several private conversations since. However, since talking with Piper that first time and her wariness regarding information pertaining to her mission, Annabeth was still hesitant to take it out. She decided she wouldn’t touch it until she felt it safe to do so.

She turned her focus to the other item she had recovered from their trip to the moon. She had taken the small disc out from her belt as soon as she got back to get undressed. It was a far more benign artifact than the computer. She felt no danger in handling it. Yet, she still had no time to investigate more than some cursory glances. She took it out of the cabinet where she had stowed it and walked over to her desk. She flipped on her desk light, breaking the dim in which, she usually kept her cabin.

Her initial examination of the disc had been woefully lacking. It wasn’t nearly as plain as she had originally thought. While on side was a smooth silver metal, maybe silver or aluminum, the other side was celestial bronze and had channels milled out of it. Annabeth flipped it back and forth and examined the edge. She didn’t think it was possible to weld celestial bronze to any other metal, or even give it a coating, even by chemical vapor deposition. Yet here she held a piece that was no thicker than a standard coin that was just clearly a merge of two metals. Filing that question away until she could talk to an engineer back on Romulus, she moved to examine the channels.

The channels were shallow. The thickness of the material not allowing for any significant depth. They also weren’t cut deep enough to reveal the second metal backing. They looked reminiscent of the groves put into a circuit card to lay in the circuitry, but their pattern didn’t quite make sense for that. Annabeth tried to imagine the components that would fit into it. An op amp could go there. Maybe a diode here, or a resistor bank. Still, it did not fit in circuits she could think of. At least once that would be functional. Maybe it was unfinished. There were some significant gaps between nodes. But then how did it glow?

Annabeth had checked several times since returning to the ship. She would open her cabinet randomly when ever she found herself back in her room. Or she would pop in for a quick second just to take a peek. She had yet to see the amber light return. Of course, why would it? There was nothing about the disc that held the capacity for illumination. Maybe the silver side, which had been face up, reflected the light off of something else she hadn’t noticed. She blew out a frustrated breath and set the disc down.

She reached over and flipped on the remote panel for the ENS—Electronic Navigational System. It was the system the bridge used for course plotting and piloting the ship. One of the benefits of being the chief mate was having a portion of the system parroted down to her room. She couldn’t take control from the flight deck, but she could see their chart plots and the ship’s position without having to go up. It was nice. Especially on the occasions when she didn’t want to dragger herself up to the bridge for watch. She idly checked the ship’s position when something snagged in her brain.

There was something about the circular star chart. She picked up the disc and held it next to the readout for the ENS. She rolled it between her fingers, changing the perspective of disc’s face. The pattern of the channels was strikingly close. The disc was crude, lacking many of the distance markers and orientation lines, but it definitely could have been some kind of chart.

The only problem with that, was that Annabeth didn’t recognize it. It could have been anywhere in the galaxy. On top of that, star charts were constructed in three-dimensional spheres. The two-dimensional cross sections were only used for navigational shorthand when position and vector were already known. There was really no way for her to narrow it down without more information.

She flipped through a few of the charts around Knossos on the off chance something around there was identifiable on the disk, but around the tenth chart she turned off the ENS. Her thoughts were drowning, and all the stars were beginning to look the same. She back down at the disc sitting on her desk.

It was absurd, wasn’t it? To think this strange disc was some kind of map. It was too small to show any real detail, or even a larger surrounding area. What would even be the point of carving a physical map into celestial bronze? Not only celestial bronze, but a piece that had some how been twinned to another piece of metal. Why go through the trouble of performing an impossible feat of metallurgy just to carve a practically useless map? No, there had to be more to the disc than that.

It did look awfully similar to a star chart though. The pattern made more sense as a chart than her first guess of a circuit card.

“All crew, standby for maneuvering,” Reyna’s voice rang out from the ship’s intercom. 

The ship was entering the last part of their journey. They were flying in close to the gravitational pull of celestial bodies and were at an increased risk of running into other traffic. From this point the ship would need to be operated by more manual means to avoid incident. This meant Annabeth and Thalia were bound to be called up to the bridge at any second. 

Annabeth sighed. She would have to continue this mystery at another time. She felt she made some progress though. She flipped off her desk light and stowed the disc back to its spot in the cabinet. She still had time to get in a quick shower and change into her uniform before she would have to report to the bridge. Maybe the warm water could help her sort through her ever growing list of new questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies if this chapter was confusing and or felt like filler. there was a lot of exposition that needed to be covered and I wasn't quite sure how to fit it in. If y'all have any feedback for me that would be much appreciated.
> 
> On the bright side, things are beginning to settle at work and while I have not been able to write much I anticipate I will be back to writing regularly soon.


	5. Arrival and Departure

Romulus was one of Annabeth’s least favorite planets to land on. 

It was buffered by an ever-shifting debris field and an electromagnetic storm that spiked of the dust of its rings. Ultimately, she knew this was why it made such a great hiding spot for what remained of Olympians. No one was going to casually fly up to the planet or get close enough for low orbit scans. It kept the Titans’ forces at a comfortable distance. Parnassus had been much the same way, but it was still easier to navigate. The obstacles that lead to Romulus always felt more crowded.

Or maybe she was just bitter about having to call it home after Parnassus fell. Not that she was ever off _The Hunt_ long enough to really settle in. Of course, she never liked it much before Parnassus fell either.

Romulus had always been one of the safe planets the Olympians took refuge on when the League fell. The Olympians used to inhabit a start system of nine planets. One planet, even as large as Parnassus, was never going to be enough to hold them. They had tried other planets of course, but Parnassus and Romulus remained to be the safest and allowed for the Olympians control. They were like little havens where the last Olympians could rebuild their culture. They had dug their heels even deeper into Romulus now that it was the only planet left.

“ _Hunt_ , Traffic,” a voice called out over the radio.

Annabeth picked up the mic to respond. It was her duty as mate to handle radio communications during docking operations. Her seat on the bridge had just about every comms device just with in hands reach of her. There were also several screens that allowed her to monitor the thrusters and all the automation for the ship’s positioning system. She could even take emergency control of steering if the pilot lost main control for some reason.

“Traffic, _Hunt_ , go ahead,” she responded.

“What are your intentions?”

“We will be coming in along 243, to New Rome 3, landing in berth 84,” Annabeth said, her words mechanical in how practiced they were. They used the same entry plan almost every time, and always returned to the same berth. Lady Artemis had it reserved for them, so they never had to worry about another ship being in their spot. Still, it was Vessel Traffic’s job to ask every time to avoid any accidents from happening.

“Roger that. _Hippocampi Rainbow_ will be turning 60 at marker 12, and _Zeus’ Fist_ is coming into berth 65 ahead of you,” Traffic said. 

“Copy all, thank you,” Annabeth said. There was no doubt more ships in the air, but those were the only two _The Hunt_ would have to worry about. Traffic would also relay their information to the other two ships, so that everyone was informed. Annabeth made notes on one of her screens to share what to keep an eye out for with the rest of the bridge team. 

It was going to be a nice easy docking. That should at least make up for the turbulence they had during entry and the few times she had a white-knuckle grip on her arm rest coming through the debris field.

“ _Zeus’ Fist_ ,” Thalia said from the captain’s chair. “Isn’t that the old clunker they tried to convert into a fast deployment ship?”

“I believe so. Big ugly thing with lots of dome modules,” Annabeth supplied.

Thalia snapped her fingers, a smile on her face. “That’s the one. Looks like a big piece of shit.” She barked out a short laugh. “What’s she hauling now?”

“Uh, just general bulk it looks like,” Annabeth said, reading off the ship’s information list from one of her screens. A smirk took form on her face.

Thalia laughed again. “I’m so glad they didn’t rename her.”

“I’m sure if Zeus saw her, that would change quickly,” Reyna said. She was off watch for this part of the flight, but she liked to be around for dockings. With no job to do she stood beside Thalia’s chair with one arm propped up on the head rest. Her face was trained into a far more serious expression. Her eyes shined with humor, betraying her.

“The old man would actually have to come to the planet for that,” Thalia griped.

Zeus was Thalia’s father. He was also the head of the Olympian Council. Thalia had seen him even less than Annabeth saw her mother, and she had a younger brother as well. It was their shared understanding of dealing with their parents that had brought the two of them together. As they got older Thalia found peace in her father’s absence. She was angrier when he was around than when he wasn’t. Annabeth understood that to a point. She still wished her mother would reach out to her though.

Reyna gave Thalia a sideways glance. She moved her hand to her shoulder, checking in. It was a small touch. Someone who didn’t know them wouldn’t recognize it for what it was. Someone who didn’t know Thalia wouldn’t have thought to check in at all.

Annabeth looked away, her jaw suddenly tense. It was such an innocuous moment. Since her early morning conversation with Thalia, Annabeth had found herself reactive to observing those silent moments of care between her friends. It was never something that bothered her before. She didn’t understand what changed to form this feeling in her chest. She did her best to ignore it, hoping it would pass. Easy enough to do when she had to focus on landing and shut down procedures shortly after.

“Home, sweet home,” Thalia said. She slapped both her hands on the armrests and stood up. “Let’s see what kind of trouble we can get into.”

From there the crew dispersed in different directions. Some to continue working, others to enjoy their free time. Thalia had already given her orders before their arrival. Everyone was off for the next three weeks with the exception of the security watch and critical maintenance. A duty schedule had already been posted outlining who would be working when. Reyna had done her best to give everyone and equal amount of liberty.

As Annabeth made her way down to the embarkation deck, she stopped by her cabin. She grabbed her field pack and shoved the disc into one of its pockets. She didn’t need to pack anything else. Like most of the hunters, she had an apartment on planet for the rare occasions she was not on mission with The Hunt. As she was hardly ever there, it didn’t have much in it. Mostly just the bare necessities for living and some changes of clothes. It did mean she wouldn’t have to take anything of her things off the ship, and her cabin would be ready for use at any time. Of course, even if she didn’t have the apartment, she could always live off of the ship while they were on planet. Time away did sound nice, so Annabeth elected to stay off the ship.

It had nothing to do with Thalia practically ordering her to stay away from the ship while she was off.

Piper, Grover, and Hedge were all waiting on the embarkation deck by the time Annabeth arrived. Thalia and Reyna were also there talking with the three of them. Annabeth walked up to the group, greeting them with a nod to not interrupt the conversation.

“It’s no issue,” Grover was saying. “we can escort the others to the arrival center. It’s part of our job anyways.” 

Annabeth gathered that they were talking about the other two passengers they had rescued. No one was quite sure who they were, and they had no identification on them. They would need to be escorted and checked in with the planet’s security to ensure they hadn’t brought Titan spies. Not to mention they weren’t in the best of shape. Annabeth wouldn’t have felt comfortable sending them off on their own even if she knew who they were.

The other passengers had improved in health during their time on _The Hunt_ , though not as miraculously as Piper. The high concentration of ichor in her blood was not shared among the others. The girl could walk on her own with a limp. The boy was faring worse. He still had multiple fractures that hadn’t closed. He had been given a hoverchair to help him get around, but he spent the majority of his time in bed recovering. He would need to be admitted into the hospital after he cleared security.

“Appreciate that, Grover,” Thalia said. She gave a sideways glance at Annabeth. “We’ve bene gone a long time. The sooner we can knock off the better.”

Hedge huffed. “He’s only offering so we have an excuse to delay our meeting.”

“Th-that’s not true,” Grover objected weakly.

“You aren’t in trouble, I hope,” Annabeth said. Her eyebrows knit together.

Grover had a tenuous past with the Council. Missions had not gone smoothly when he first started working for them. None of it had been his fault, but they were very unhappy with his performance. He had been threatened several times with terminations. Each incident had shaken him and seemed to only compound his issues. He turned around quickly though, accomplishing things no one else in the task force had managed. He hardly had a slip up since. It pained Annabeth’s heart to him vulnerable like that again.

“We shouldn’t be, but when a mission report includes ‘being held captive’, there tends to be a lot of scrutiny,” Piper said with a small shrug of her shoulders.

“Well, if you need anything, we’re happy to lend a hand,” Annabeth offered.

Piper smiled. “Thanks. I’ll definitely keep that in mind. You have already done so much for us though. If you find yourself in need of anything, you can always give me a call. Even if it’s not work related.”

Reyna opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a new voice. “I heard you had come in. Thought I should catch you before you could get into trouble.”

A young man stood at the bottom of the embarkation ramp. The bright grin spread across his face was reflected in his blue eyes. He was tall with abroad shoulders and chest, stretching the shirt he wore as he waved enthusiastically. The symbol of the Legion was tattooed on his forearm, standing out in vivid black ink as he waved. The image of a golden eagle posing proudly sat just above that. His short, blonde hair caught the afternoon sun making it look closer to the gold that embellished the prayer cloth that hung from his belt over his left thigh.

“As if you could ever catch me, Jason!” Thalia shouted back. Her face broke into an identical grin. She immediately started down the ramp towards him.

“Are you sure you’re not slowing down with your old age?” Jason asked.

“How about I kick your ass, and you tell me?” Despite her threat Thalia wrapped him in a hug as soon as she reached him, which Jason eagerly returned. He squeezed her tightly and used his superior height to lift her a couple inches off the ground. Thalia retaliated by knocking his shoulder.

“I missed you,” Jason said.

“Missed you too. Now, come say hi to everyone else, you big oaf,” Thalia joked. She led him back up the ramp toward the group. Both of their smiles still remained in place. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth noticed Piper tense as Jason came closer. It was a subtle change, almost imperceptible.

“Annabeth! Reyna! I see you two haven’t mutinied yet,” Jason greeted, giving each woman a quick hug in turn.

“It’s been tempting,” Reyna said as Jason released her. “Unfortunately, I’m still in love with her.” She earned a quick kiss on the cheek from Thalia.

“You look much better than the last time I saw you, Jason,” Piper said. Her voice was soft and carried a melodic hint to it.

Jason noticed her for the first time. His eyes went wide as he scanned her over. Then his face scrunched into an expression of confused concentration. His mouth pulled into a thin line, stretching the thin scare that marked the corner of his upper lip. He looked like a student failing to remember the answer to a test—struggling hard to recall something they were certain of just the night before.

“You— I’m sorry, I—” Jason stumbled over his words, like the blockage in his memory was affecting the rest of his mental functions.

“It’s alright,” Piper interrupted. “You probably don’t remember me. They said you got a pretty bad concussion.”

“Oh,” Jason stated dumbly. He scratched at the back of his neck. His smile was now small, embarrassed.

Hedge mumbled something under his breath. Then he grabbed Grover by the arm. “Come on, let’s get those other two checked in.” Grover looked like he wanted to protest but let himself get dragged away.

Annabeth called after him, letting him know it was okay. They would be a on planet for a while and there was plenty of time for them all to catch up and spend time together. This made Grover smile and he nodded. Thalia put in her agreement and said her goodbyes before Hedge managed to get Grover all the way down the ramp with their other two passengers in tow. Hedge was determined to get going.

Jason cleared his throat and turned back toward Piper. “Uh, so were you at the riots then?”

“I was,” Piper answered. “Pulled you out of that fountain too.” An amused light danced in her eyes. Jason on the other hand looked ready to curl in on himself. A flush crept up from the collar of his shirt.

Thalia, Reyna, and Annabeth all exchanged looks. They took in the scene before them, and a silent agreement was reached.

Reyna crossed her arms over her chest with a disappointed sigh. “Really, Jason. You have to stop getting hit in the head. It’s a nasty habit, and you don’t have much to lose.”

“You’ll have to forgive my brother here. Even with out all the head trauma he can be kind of idiot,” Thalia said. She gave Jason a sympathetic pat on the shoulder for good measure.

Piper had the grace to let out a small laugh. Her smile was gentle. “I never found that to be true,” she said.

“Wait, did we know each other before that?” Jason asked, blinking.

“Not for very long. I guess you forgot that too, huh?” Piper’s smile remained in place and her tone light. However, pain darkened her brown eyes.

Annabeth understood Piper’s tension from before. She was bracing herself. She knew Jason didn’t quite remember her. Maybe not quite to what extent, but she knew he suffered amnesia from his concussion. That tension was still there now, despite how she tried to play it off. It was wavering now. The realization of just how much Jason had forgotten was a bigger hit than she anticipated.

Piper straightened. “How about we start over? I’m Piper,” she said, holding out her hand. Jason was slow to take it, but his grip was firm. It lingered a moment after it they shook.

“Jason. Though I guess you already know that,” Jason said. His warm smile dropped after he realized his mistake. “Er, wait, we are starting over.”

“You see what I mean?” Thalia said, shaking her head. “You should ask him how he got that scar on his lip. Undeniable evidence.”

“Are you meant to be helping?” Jason glowered at his sister.

“I am helping,” Thalia protested.

“Just maybe not you,” Annabeth added with a smirk. Jason shook his head at her, but his eyes betrayed his amusement. Whether that was due to him knowing their teasing was well meaning, or because Piper politely tried to hide her own smile behind her hand, was hard to say. What mattered most was that everyone was in good spirits.

Annabeth’s chest felt lighter than it had in who knows how long. The realization struck her as strange. Had happiness really become so foreign to her? It came so easily now. Was it because they were off work? Or maybe it was just because it had been ages since they had some quality time with Jason. Thalia may have had a point about them being on voyage for too long. Annabeth was bolstered by this thought. It was easier to admit it was something everyone was struggling with and not just a problem with her. However, if she continued down that thread, she would probably realize she was the only one of them contemplating this. Instead, she abandoned it there and focused on the people around her and their easy smiles.

“Well, Jason,” Piper said, putting a little emphasis on his name. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, but unfortunately I have a meeting to get to.”

“Oh,” Jason said dumbly. Annabeth admired his eloquence. “Maybe after your meeting I can find some way to make it up to you for forgetting you. And saving me too, I guess.”

Piper smiled. “I look forward to it.” She turned back to the Hunters. “Thanks again for everything. Please don’t hesitate to reach out for anything.” There was a quick exchange of affirmations, and then Piper headed down the embarkation ramp into the city. Jason’s eyes followed her the whole time.

“She’s not a new Hunter, is she?” he asked.

“No. Council Special Intelligence,” Annabeth answered.

“So, still very much out of your league,” Thalia said. Jason gave her a sour look which only made her bark out a laugh. “Come on, let’s get off this ship.”

The group, now reduced to four, made their way down the ramp. Thalia draped her arm around Reyna’s shoulders, who was happy to lean into her. They went first which left Jason and Annabeth to follow behind walking side by side. They waved their goodbyes to their other shipmates as they passed. 

Once they were past port security Reyna turned to look over at Jason. “So… riots?” she asked. One eyebrow arched high.

Jason blew out a heavy breath. “Yeah. All Octavian’s doing, I assure you.”

“Wouldn’t have even thought to doubt,” Reyna said.

“He’s been on some stint about bloodlines and who holds a right to inherit Olympus’ legacy.” Jason waved his hand through the air in some vague gesture. His face contorted into an expression of pure confusion. “He’s been trying to say we can’t trust the newer or further removed generations of Olympians that didn’t come from Romulus. Not even the ones displaced from Parnassus.”

“What?” Annabeth interjected. Jason gave her a sympathetic look.

“Yeah, you can imagine how that went. It got worse when he started accusing people of being Titan plants. It all devolved into riots when he tried to make a public arrest to make an example and prove his point. A lot of people did not take to seeing their neighbors treated like that,” Jason said.

Annabeth could relate. Her blood was boiling just hearing about it. To see it happen? She would have gone out swinging, whether Octavian was a Legion officer or not. Annabeth clenched her jaw. Octavian represented to the worst of the Legion. Why they still let him sow unrest baffled her, and yet, at the same time she knew exactly why.

She had never been a fan of the Legion. It had nothing to do with being special forces on Parnassus either. A rivalry was natural to develop between the two elite forces being trained on separate planets. It could be fun and a way to encourage each to continuously seek improvement. The Legion always took it a little further than that though. It was like they forgot they were fighting on the same side. Annabeth was always greeted with their aggression above their hospitality. She blamed their sever training methods and their zealous ideologies. The Legion called it being always prepared and loyal to their cause.

This was why Octavian was so secure within the Legion. He championed those values above all else.

Luckily, there had always been someone more moderate who outranked him and kept him in check. For long time that was Jason and Reyna, He had bucked at their leadership though, and did what he could to tear them both down. Eventually, Reyna chose to step down to keep her honor intact, refusing to sink to Octavian’s level. That was when she joined _The Hunt_ and her sanity got a reprieve. Jason was still in the Legion and outranked Octavian, but he had shifted into a new position that no longer put him in direct supervision of the vile snake. This did not mean they had left the Legion vulnerable.

“You should have seen the look on Frank’s face once he settled the riots,” Jason continued. “Octavian had finally given him enough evidence to court marshal him and three of the officers involved in the arrest. His entire cohort is currently under strict review and the fifth cohort has taken over civic protections.”

“I’m proud of him,” Reyna said with a smile. “It’s good to see the Legion support him so fully, and it’s only those under Octavian who are causing strife.” 

“He’s been great. Better than I could have done,” Jason said.

“Is Octavian still trying to pull temple duties from you?” Thalia asked.

“A little. Frank’s got him cornered there too. Octavian still has his position within the temple though.” Jason shrugged his shoulders. It was the first time he had let his smile disappear since he showed up at the ship. Thalia regarded him with darkened eyes. Annabeth felt shared the sentiment. Work in the temple had been Jason’s saving grace. 

Like his sister, Jason had inherited a high concentration of ichor from their father. With his natural gifts and the station of their father, Jason felt obligated to join the fight for Olympus as soon as he could. He was only a child when he left Parnassus because the Legion accepted him for training at an earlier age. It nearly broke Thalia to be separated from her brother like that, but it was Jason’s decision, and he had the full support of the Council. What kind of sister would she have been to hold him back from his dream? The only problem was he never actually asked himself why he was fighting. He just threw himself fully into the endeavor because he felt he had to. When it seemed like the pressure was finally going to break him, the temple gave him the answer.

The temple priests showed him how to give order and purpose to his compassion in a way the Legion never could. They took what was inherent to him and built upon it, not just used it for their own gain. Jason learned what it meant to find work satisfying and not just accomplishing. He was still a soldier, fighting was just as inherent to him as everything else, but now he was a soldier with purpose and light.

Octavian doing anything to taint that for him was a declaration of war as far as Thalia and Annabeth were concerned.

“So, you’ll be on planet for three whole weeks?” Jason asked. The hint of force to his light tone made it clear he was trying to steer the conversation to a happier subject.

“That’s right,” Thalia confirmed.

“It’s hard to imagine,” Annabeth said, trying to keep the bitterness out of her tone.

Jason gave her a sideways glance. The corner of his mouth curled upward. “Sounds like a really tough assignment. Are you sure you’re going to survive?”

“Oh, truly. It’s almost a suicide mission.” Thalia joined in the teasing. Annabeth supposed it was only fair after the ribbing they gave Jason on the ship. Although, fairer would be poking at Thalia, not her.

Annabeth shot daggers at the back of Thalia’s head. “Maybe I’ll pick up a new hobby. Mutiny sounds interesting.”

“Hard to mutiny when you’re not allowed on the ship,” Thalia shot back. She wagged her finger in the air at Annabeth without looking back at her. Jason laughed which helped keep Annabeth’s mood from souring.

“If you really get that bored, you can always stop by Bunker Nine,” Jason said. He tapped Annabeth lightly with his elbow. “They might even put you to work.”

“What’s at Bunker Nine?”

“Council’s building a new warship. It’s really something. You should check it out regardless,” Jason told her.

“Interesting.” Annabeth’s tone dropped as her thoughts began to drift away from her friends.

The news of the Council building a new ship piqued her interest. They seemed so disheartened after losing _Empire State_ she wasn’t sure they would ever try for another similar project. Apparently, that was not the case. She would definitely have to check it out and see what the inspiration was. She also planned to talk with some engineers while she was on planet. If it was a Council mandated project, then all the best engineers would be at Bunker Nine. She could accomplish two things with one trip.

Her friends didn’t prod her after she grew quiet. They were used to this from her. However, Annabeth did note the pointed look Thalia gave Jason, and the concerned manner in which Reyna looked over her shoulder at her. Reyna’s concern was the worst out of the group. Probably because she had been much the same way as Annabeth before she left the Legion. She was the one who not only saw the cracks first but understood them. Still, this was who Annabeth was. There had to be a way to balance this. It had to be okay in some way. She just needed to convince her friends.

Annabeth left the group once they passed by her apartment building. She made promises to see them tomorrow, then made her way inside. Her isolation had a physical presence in her spartan apartment. Everything was neat and in order. It was the perfect place for her to work. The thoughts she had been churning over just minutes before were now faded, and her head as void as her room.

She dropped her pack on her kitchen counter with little care. Then she headed to the bathroom and stripped down to get int eh shower. Annabeth stood there for a long time thinking of nothing in particular. The warm water was soothing, and she concentrated on the way it made her feel embraced. After she got out and dried off she went to bed. She pulled her covers up to her chine and closed her eyes. She blamed her early turn in on being used to the thirty-six hour day of space travel and being on a different time schedule.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I've gone back and edited some of the past chapters as I noticed some basic proof reading errors, but the content hasn't changed.  
> Anyways I hope you continue to read along and enjoy. Character interactions are some of my favorite to write, but I don't know if the story is moving along at a good pace.


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